Change
by distorted prep queen
Summary: Taking one look behind him, the boy caught sight of the shadow of a great stone castle, a sudden urge to run back slowly building up inside of him. But again catching a glimpse of what lay just a few feet ahead made him turn back, his mind finally made up


So first of all, I'd like to thank Good Charlotte for making this song that's been the inspiration for me for the fic- yes I know it's an old song of theirs, but it doesn't really matter! So yeah, thanks, and oh, sorry if I used the title! (**BTW: THEY'RE THE BEST!**)

Ahem, so anyway, all I can say about this story is that it is another OWKB one-shot added to my collection. Oh yeah! I might as well add that you guys better expect this story to have a very different ending than…well, all of my other stories…yeah… I hope I didn't ruin it for those of you who understood that or know what the song is all about (which I hope not most of you do)

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, they belong to JK Rowling. Sad, yes…

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**Change**

**By: Marauders-rock-my-socks**

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He didn't know how long he had been standing there, all sense of time lost. All he heard was the deafening sound of his heart pounding in his ears; all he felt was the coldness from the wind; and all he saw was the rain that continued to pour in front of him. Finally breaking from his trance, he took a deep breath, the faint smoke hanging in the air. Taking one look behind him, the boy caught sight of the shadow of a great stone castle, a sudden urge to run back slowly building up inside of him. But again catching a glimpse of what lay just a few feet ahead made him turn back, his mind finally made up.

Gathering as much courage as he could, he stepped out, anxiety surprisingly fading slowly away. It was as if the rain was washing all the muddled emotions he held, the water cleaning him of any feeling, eventually leaving him numb. And as he stood there in the middle of the quidditch pitch, eyes closed and getting even more drenched by the second, the world no longer existed, him and the rain the only things left.

But suddenly all of this ended, the sound of footsteps bringing him back to reality. And just like that everything came back. Through the sheets of water he could already make out the vague form of a girl quickly making her way towards him. He could feel his heart once more speeding up and his mouth going dry as she stood beside him, her usual warm smile on her face.

"Hey there, Oliver" she whispered quietly, her dark green orbs just as bright as he remembered.

Oliver watched silently as she closed her eyes, head held up high, her grin widening as the rain continued to fall on her face. Her dark mahogany locks flowed freely over her shoulders, the droplets of water complementing her pale and delicate features. Katie looked even more beautiful than he had ever seen, Oliver thought quietly to himself, once more getting nervous as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Slowly opening her eyes, Katie turned her head, her gaze resting on the boy. "You said in your note that you wanted to talk to me." A concerned look came upon her face as she continued to look upon him, "Is there something wrong, Oliver?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong." He mumbled quite incoherently, after which he mentally whacked himself over the head for it. Taking in one deep breath, Oliver looked straight at her, a determined look standing out from the dark brown pools. "Katie, I actually have been practicing for this moment for so long, but now that it's here, everything I planned to say is gone. But I guess all I want to tell you is that-"

"Oliver, don't do this…" Katie interrupted softly, her eyes begging him not to go any further.

But he continued, the feeling of getting all of this off his chest such a relief that he didn't care to stop. "-whenever I'm with you, I just feel… I want to just use the word 'fancy', but I know that what I feel is more than that, Katie. I can't even explain what this is, love maybe," Oliver paused abruptly, suddenly aware he had just said the word love, something he had never used before. But catching himself, he continued once more, praying slightly that Katie hadn't heard that last bit. "but it just takes over. It's everything about you- the way you laugh, the way you know what I'm thinking about even if I don't say anything at all. I don't know if this is a lot to ask, but I'm just want you to give me a chance to make you feel like I do about you, whatever this…"

Oliver looked up, his eyes having wandered down through his confession. A torn look shadowed Katie's face, her eyes also directed towards the ground. The usual playful glint in her eyes was gone as she looked at him. There was no sound from the two, the still falling rain the only thing that could be heard. It was some time before Katie finally spoke, her eyes slightly glazed.

"…I'm sorry Oliver…"

Oliver could already feel his heart slowly breaking apart as she spoke, but somehow he had managed to keep his face blank as she continued.

"…but I just don't feel the same way about you. I don't mean to hurt you, but I don't see you in that way…" Katie stopped, her eyes almost spilling with the tears they've been trying to hold back. "I hope that you're okay with that decision, even though this must be the exact opposite of what you wanted to hear." Katie stayed silent for some time, biting her lips as she waited for Oliver to give any sort of reply at all, hoping that she hadn't hurt him too much.

"…But I know I can't make you change how you feel about me." Oliver whispered, sounding as if it was more for him as he tried even harder to keep the pain inside. "Maybe I should've seen this coming when I first saw you." Oliver couldn't help but laugh bitterly as he mentioned this, the hurt that he had been suppressing managing to show a bit.

"What do you mean?" Katie asked, an even more saddened look on her face as she noted his laugh.

"I still remember seeing you back when I was in third year as this small but feisty first year. You never really knew how much attention you were able to get from so many people. There was always something different about you, something that made you always stand out from the crowded halls. You always fascinated me, now that I think about it. I guess that's why I befriended you when you got accepted as a chaser, I wanted to see what it was like being around you." But as Oliver turned and looked at her, a guilty feeling was suddenly added to the pile of emotions that was now hanging perilously on the balance currently tipping nearer an emotional breakdown. "Oh, I didn't mean for that to make you feel bad anything…"

"No, no, you didn't make me feel bad." Katie replied, a forced smile on her face. The two shared a small sad smile despite the whirling feelings they were trying to control. This went on for some time until she broke it once more, "Well, I guess we better go in before we get any more sick…"

"Er, yeah, go ahead. I'll be right up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be up in a tic." Oliver watched as Katie turned back and started walking out of the pitch, her form gradually becoming lost in the downpour. Letting out a breath he had unknowingly be holding, Oliver turned back to the spot where she had been standing, almost as if imagining she was still standing there.

In the silence, Oliver started to sort out the even more tangled web of emotions he had suddenly gained over the time he had been out here. In one side, he was proud of himself for really putting himself on the line and gathering enough courage to say everything he had been keeping back for so many years, but at the same time Oliver felt as if someone had just taken his heart and ripped it to pieces. Oliver knew all along that there was a greater chance Katie wouldn't have accepted his sudden proclamation of emotions, but he never knew it hurt this bad.

Wallowing in the pain for quite some time, Oliver finally stopped. He realized that he really couldn't do anything about it anymore, it was Katie's decision to make, and she said no. Taking another deep breath, Oliver reckoned that he should at least be contented with being her best friend seeing this was only how far Katie was willing to be with him; he should just accept it- not that anything made it any easier to cope with.

Again, Oliver closed his eyes, head slightly turned upwards. He remained this way until finally turning back and leaving, only taking one haste glimpse behind him. Slowly he walked across the grounds, the rain once more welcomed by him as it again started to wash his feelings away, although not as well as before.

Unknown to him was that a few feet above, was a girl standing by her window as she watched Oliver make his way towards the entrance. Just as she saw him enter the castle, she turned back once more to her bed, laying down the towel she had used to dry her hair off. Sitting down on the bed, she reached over her bedside table, grabbing the first frame that rested upon it. She watched as the two figures smiled towards the camera before bursting into laughter and the whole thing happening again. Resting her fingers over the boy, she felt the corners of her mouth tugging upwards as he and the girl laughed together, the small feeling of regret slowly building up inside her.

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See, I told you all it wasn't like all of my endings. This one is hell sad and Oliver and Katie don't end up together…so sad. shakes head Well I hope all of you enjoyed that- despite it being freakishly short…I did go more for the content and intensity of emotions over length this time. 

Please do remember to tell me what you all think of it…I dunno, should I make a sequel? Leave it as is? Remove it because you all think it's a bunch of crap? Do tell!

Your friendly author,

**Marauders-rock-my-socks**


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